This invention relates to stands for holding decorative trees, especially Christmas trees, and particularly to such a stand for the display of trees in which the position of a tree is adjustable.
Tremendous numbers of families celebrate the Christmas season by displaying and decorating Christmas trees, using assorted styles of Christmas tree stands designed to perform the basic function of supporting a tree in an upright attitude.
A popular Christmas tree stand comprises a shallow dish centered below a circular ring which is supported several inches above the center of the shallow dish by three stand legs which also support the shallow dish above the floor. The lower or butt end portion of a tree trunk is guided through the center of the circular ring and pressed onto short spikes protruding up from the lower center of the shallow dish. This fixes the position of the lower end of the tree with respect to the dish. Screws are screwed inward through several threaded holes through the circular ring and make contact with the surface of the tree trunk, providing the necessary support to hold the tree in an upright attitude. Although functional, this stand requires a cumbersome and frustrating process for adjusting the attitude and orientation of a tree for display. First, it is difficult to position the end of the tree trunk on the spikes in a position such that the tree will have the desired attitude when the screws are tightened onto the tree trunk. To modify the attitude of the tree it may be necessary to reposition the end of the tree trunk on the spikes. This requires the screws to be loosened, allowing the trunk to be lifted and repositioned on the spikes. Thereafter, the screws are tightened to again provide support for the tree. Second, the tree will typically be leaning to one side in the stand requiring readjustment of the screws to place the tree into the desired attitude (e.g., usually perpendicular to the floor). Readjustment involves retracting and extending the screws threaded through the circular ring to move the tree trunk relative to the circular ring, attempting to obtain the desired attitude for the tree. Third, the vast majority of trees have branches on one side which are more aesthetically pleasing than the other side for viewing. Accordingly, the entire tree stand may require turning (together with the tree) to obtain the best rotational orientation for viewing. After rotation, a tree with a bent trunk will usually require realigning to obtain the desired attitude.
Drablowski U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,095 discloses an adjustable Christmas tree stand in which the lower end of a Christmas tree is held in an elongate cylindrical receptacle held in a stand. The attitude of the cylindrical receptacle may be adjusted by permitting a retaining pin in the stand to engage a selected one of many holes in a plate attached to the bottom of the cylindrical receptacle. The ability to select the desired attitude is limited by the availability of suitable holes on the bottom of the cylindrical receptacle. Adjusting the attitude of the tree is thus an awkward process which involves raising the tree and the cylindrical receptacle to permit repositioning of the retaining pin into the desired hole.
Holmes U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,633 discloses a tree stand having a base and a cylindrical sleeve that surrounds the tree trunk and fits into a hole in the base. The cylindrical sleeve has annular shoulders that engage an annular element defining the hole in the base, thus holding the tree erect. Holmes does not, however, incorporate any provision for adjusting the tree to a desired attitude.
Other devices for supporting a tree or the like also lack a simple way to move and securely hold a tree in a desired attitude and orientation, as shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,159,780, 3,885,763, 3,582,028, 3,073,558, 2,613,899, 2,044,192, and 1,769,127.
What is still needed, then, is a tree stand which is easily attached to a tree and which provides an easy way to adjust the attitude and orientation of such a tree.